hen with swollen abdomen

[chickengr]

hi,

I have a hen with swollen abdomen. it was soft. she laid eggs normally but I found 2-3 that looked like a ping-pong balls. she has not been able to walk for a few days although she gives some signs of improvement. her abdomen is hard now although does not look like egg bound. is it possible that she has an egg inside and that she laid other eggs? what else could that be?

I lubricated her vent a few times but no eggs came out. she had a heavy infestation of tape worms. I gave her vermox 4-5 days ago and probably it was too strong for her condition. she collapsed but today she moved around a bit. she eats a bit and drinks water normally.

 

[ABchickenguy]

I went through the same thing with a hen. You did the right thing by putting her out of her misery.

 

[DrRock]

sorry for your loss. I would never do any surgery to my chickens. they are not tough animals and they easily get a heart attack or stroke. they should live as long as they are happy.

Yes totally agree. A part of me considered just taking her home because she did appear happy and comfortable despite her diagnosis. But the other part of me knew it was only a matter of time, and I didn't want to get her home and have her go downhill and start to suffer and not be able to do "the deed" myself... I've read that birds can "pretend" to be OK even hen they are not as a means to avoid capture from predators by not appearing as the weak one in the flock, so perhaps her red comb and good weight was just a rouse anyway. The vet commented that her breathing being rapid and shallow was a sign the peritonitis was affecting her lungs and I hadn't picked up on that sign when observing her with the flock (I just assumed her breathing was rapid from the stress of being caged and vet checked). At any rate, poor girl was better off being gently put to sleep in the end.

When the vet started talking surgery I knew it was over. I agree, the shock of surgery would probably be enough to do her in anyway, especially as you say how prone they can be! I guess there must be some people who chose this option but it wasn't for me.

 

[SuperChickRuth]

my hen did not get better. she was in pain and sitting in the corner or hiding under the coop. we killed her yesterday and found out she had salpingitis/lash egg. she would have died soon anyway.

we killed another one as well that was young. I bought her in may and she had been sick all the time (sneezing/rattle sound). she had like a ping pong ball size balloon full of water under her vent.

I am very sad for killing them but they had no future.

Aw, I'm so sorry! (And I apologize, I have not checked Backyard Chickens for so long...) And like ABchickenguy said, you did the right thing.

 

[SuperChickRuth]

There's a couple things it could be, ascities, or egg yolk peritonitis. We went through a similar thing with one of our hens. I would try draining her with a needle/syringe. If she does have, ascities, she will start dropping weight, so keep her eating and drinking.

 

[chickengr]

There's a couple things it could be, ascities, or egg yolk peritonitis. We went through a similar thing with one of our hens. I would try draining her with a needle/syringe. If she does have, ascities, she will start dropping weight, so keep her eating and drinking.

thank you.

she has been like that since winter but she didn;t loose any weight. she has been bad for the last few days after worming with vermox (I used to worm chicken with vermox before). I did a cloacal exam and syringend some st. john's wort oil and she went straight away to the corner where she laid her last eggs.

can she have egg yolk peritonitis and still lay eggs? she laid a lot of eggs. I am afraid she has bad genetics.

 

[SuperChickRuth]

I am not totally sure, but I think yeah, she could still lay eggs. I'm certain our hen who passed away from peritonitis had bad genetics, too. She was a Barred Rock, and never laid even half of what they are supposed to. And her sister now, is showing some
egg problems...sigh...

 

[chickengr]

her belly is more hard now but I cannot feel egg. she is not loosing weight either. my parents will come to visit me soon so they will kill all of my sick birds that I should have done long ago. I am a new chicken keeper so killing is still not my option.

 

[SuperChickRuth]

Okay, if her abdomen is getting full with fluid, I strongly suggest draining her. At this point, I doubt she's got an egg there.

Why on earth would your parents kill your birds? If you're keeping chickens strictly for business, or eggs and have limited space,
I guess maybe it could be justified, but I personally don't agree. Keep on taking care of her! Glad she's not loosing weight- that's really good.

 

[chickengr]

Okay, if her abdomen is getting full with fluid, I strongly suggest draining her. At this point, I doubt she's got an egg there.

Why on earth would your parents kill your birds? If you're keeping chickens strictly for business, or eggs and have limited space,
I guess maybe it could be justified, but I personally don't agree. Keep on taking care of her! Glad she's not loosing weight- that's really good.

I am not sure what her problem is. if there is any fluid it is deep inside. and her belly is not hard enough for the egg. I suspect she has a tumor. she is not a happy bird any more. she cannot walk properly and she is sitting in the corner alone. I haven't decided yet what to do but if she continues to be like that and does not get any better I think it is better to put her out of misery. I do have limited space and I cannot put her back with my big flock as the roos would mate her constantly. they don't leave sick hens alone.

anyway, thank you very much for your time. I will tell my hen there is someone on another part of the planet who cares about her. let's see if that helps her to get better. sometimes little things make big things happen.